Michaelmas
In 1998 Anthony Gormley's Angel of the North, 20 metres tall with wings 54 metres across, was erected overlooking the motorway at Gateshead in the north of England.
Since then it has been seen by millions of people as they drive by.
I want to think a little about angels this morning for today is the nearest Sunday to the feast of St Michael and all Angels.
It is a festival of the whole church, obligatory for us all to keep...I wonder why this is so...
The Bible is full of stories about angels.
Sometimes in these stories we catch a glimpse of heaven, of the angels joyful in the presence of God, full of love for God, worshipping him constantly.
Sometimes, we catch a glimpse of heaven being brought to earth, when someone has a dream, as Jacob did, that seemed to open heaven to him, to catch him up to heaven.
Sometimes, we learn of holy guardian angels watching over us, as when Jesus said, 'Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.' [Matthew 18: 10]
Sometimes, more directly, we see the ways of God, the ways of heaven, explained to men and women, as when the angel Gabriel appears and brings a direct message to Zechariah about Elizabeth his wife bearing a son who will be called John and will be the forerunner of the Messiah. And, most well known of all, we see Gabriel appearing to the young Mary and telling her God would like her to bear Jesus.
In these accounts, the angels bring heaven to earth and earth to heaven. They connect us on earth to the joy and glory of heaven. They give us an encouraging moment when we can see the reality at the heart of things, when we see it all clearly. They bridge the gap if you like.
But these accounts also puzzle us. Think how angels are portrayed in Christian art and iconography. They are common in Renaissance paintings and in stained glass windows: ...often portrayed as great and beautiful with iridescent wings; or they are the fat little cherubs, flying around in the sky; or mighty seraphs with six wings or the warrior angels with spears and swords, waging war against evil.
They are useful to us as images.
I had a wonderful picture as a child of a little girl in a tiny boat...just vaguely seen was an angel standing between the child and the sea...underneath were the words...Dear God my boat is so small and your sea so big. Please guard my little ship for me...I was one year old when that was given me.
BUT...and it's a big but... I dare say that most of us have seen nothing that would remind us of an angel in our daily lives and most of us are not expecting to see an angel, certainly in this life. Does this mean that there are no angels, or simply that we have failed to see them?
Are they there for us to see if we only had the right kind of vision?
The dilemma is not new. Do you know this marvellous Old Testament Story?
In the account of the prophet Elisha during a war between the people of Israel and the Arameans, the king of Aram is disturbed because the Israelites seem to know in advance his strategy for the war. His advisers tell him that no one is betraying him but that Elisha the man of God is telling the king of Israel even the words he speaks in his bedchamber. Had he got a spy there or did he have some inner psychic power? The king resolves to capture Elisha and sends chariots and horses. Elisha's servant in the morning looks at the hills surrounding the city and sees the alarming sight of the Aramean forces drawn up for attack.
'Alas, master! What shall we do?' ,he says Elisha replies, 'Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.' Then Elisha prayed: 'O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. [2 Kings 6: 15-17]
This was to reassure Elisha's own servant that he should not be afraid...the servant needed to know that God was with him...ultimately therefore there was no reason to be afraid.
To me angels are really powerful symbols that earth and heaven are not separate. Belief in angels is shared by Jews Christians and Muslims and the great religions of the east are also peopled with spiritual beings. There are people who tell you of stories of angels set in very modern contexts... there is one I found yesterday where a priest got Multiple Sclerosis and was engaged in groundbreaking work that was important. He just saw it all crumbling and feeling he was not able to carry on he was he was caste into considerably misery. He dreamt of an angel coming to him who said his work would go forward and he personally would be cared for...and it was so...he preached and celebrated from a wheel chair and the parish carried forward the work on his behalf and cared for him personally...so, who am I not to believe that God does use angels. In fact in many places in the Bible the angel is a picture to represent God himself...think of Moses at the burning bush and the angels at the tomb...humans maybe...but carrying God's own message. The very word angel...angellos...means messenger.
And what of Michael whose day this most especially is...we need someone to remind us that a task given to God's people wherever they are is to fight evil on a day to day basis...and to preach that God has won that battle in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is why it is a feast of the whole church. It reminds us that we believe, like ourselves, angels are created and join us in worship every time we celebrate the Eucharist...for with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven we laud and magnify God's holy name... so I believe in angels in whatever form they come.
I have in my down stairs cloakroom in the vicarage an embroidery done by an aged nun which is of angels
Underneath it reads
The angels keep their ancient place
Turn but a stone and you'll startle a wing.
So if you happened to pass under the angel of the north...look at him and give thanks for his protective power.
Rev Canon Ann Philp